Larry Shenk, Vice President of Alumni Relations, shares his notes, quotes and anecdotes from the world of baseball.

E-mail Responses

Answering e-mails……

Is there any chance the Phillies could put up a name banner for Ed Delahanty? He is one of the 5 best Phillies ever and it seems like he is ignored because he played at the turn of the century.

Jack: You are correct, Ed is one of the best players in Phillies history.

As you are probably aware, the Phillies have retired several numbers and they are on display at Citizens Bank Park. There are three Hall of Famers, Delahanty. Grover Cleveland Alexander and Chuck Klein who aren’t recognized in this area because they didn’t wear uniform numbers when they played. (In Klein’s case, he wore six different numbers throughout his career).

Delahanty, Alexander and Klein are recognized in two other areas in Citizens Bank Park. All three are pictured in the illustrated history of baseball in Philadelphia that is located in the Memory Lane section of Ashburn Alley. We also have oil paintings of them in the Cooperstown Gallery of the Hall of Fame Club. In each case, information is included with the photo or painting, which helps educate fans more than a banner containing their names.

The history of the Phillies is very important to the organization. We have been in the National League since 1883 and we are very proud of the tradition.

If you are not allowed to use saliva to throw a spitball, why can Roberto Hernandez use sweat on the baseball?

Fred: Allegedly Roberto is not wiping his sweat on the ball, just using his fingers in rubbing the ball and not the palm of his sweaty hand. That is an issue our coaching staff watches carefully. If they feel there is an infraction, they let the umpires know.

I’m curious if you folks happen to know who is the oldest living member (obviously now long retired) of my favorite hometown team.

Brian: Up until last summer, Bobby Stevens, a shortstop in 1931, was still alive and he was 98 years of age. We invited him to our Alumni Night last August but he was unable to attend because of poor health. He has since passed on.

As best we know, 1B-2B-3B Gene Corbett (1936-38) and RHP Bob Allen (1937) are the oldest at 92.

If your or anyone else has other information, please e-mail me.

Hey, Larry, about the flexibility of payroll—how does the team plan to use that money? I hear the payroll will be cut to around mid 70’s next year.

Derek: Yes, we shed payroll around the trading deadline to provide some flexibility for the future. First of all, we will have certain players eligible for arbitration and others that are due raises in the current contract. Dollars can also be used for free agents, the international market and the amateur draft. I don’t know where this $70 million payroll figure came from.

Flexibility also enabled us to acquire Jamie Moyer and Jose Hernandez and explore more options for improving the team.

Winning a championship remains our number 1 goal. I know we haven’t been in the post-season since 1993 and that frustrates us as well as the fans.

The Phillies are my new favorite team now that they have acquired a true professional, Jamie Moyer. He and his family will be one of the finest additions the people of Philadelphia will ever get. Poor Jamie was runless in Seattle and is still one **** of a pitcher. He will give NL batters fits trying to adjust to his off-speed stuff. I am sad as a Mariners fan, but am excited for the Phils and Jamie.

John: Welcome to the land of Phillies passion. Your comments have been echoed by other Seattle fans. Jamie was huge for the Mariners both on the field and off. We’re glad to have him in the clubhouse daily and on the mound every fifth day.

Some day, Jamie will be inducted into the Mariners Hall of Fame. He most certainly deserves the honor.

2 Comments

Wondering what you and your readers think of “Invincible”…that’s a top-5 sports movie for at least this person outside of Philly. And was wondering about the circumstances of that tryout — am guessing the Phils were on a road trip so Vermeil was able to hold tryouts then — unless it was during day and they were cleared out for a night game at the Vet.

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